Property solicitor

[MummytoGeorgie]

I'm on maternity and I miss my work!

I'm a property solicitor, if anyone has any questions I would be more than happy to give some free advice to do with conveyancing i.e moving home, enquiries, searches, title documentation etc (no landlord tenant as that's not my area of expertise).

TIA

Hello my aunt lived with her ex some 24 years ago as a cohabitating couple and had a child to him some years later she ended the relationship and the son stayed with the father he bought a house per name on the deeds then when she ended the relationship he produced a piece of paper for her to sign to take her name off the deeds he never mentioned anything about it again she later married and divorced another guy... she found out via her son her ex had died then now has her name on n the house deeds in which she doesn’t want to know about what steps or advice could you may give me she is currently living in council property and wishes to remain they... her son has lived in the house Which has my aunts name on can she sign it over to her son???

@Kitanora Hey! I replied to your private message, hope you got it ok as it disappeared when I clicked sent. Never done a PM before ha let me know if you didn't get it x

@Nbu1964 hi, thanks for your message. I'm assuming there's no mortgage on the property? She would need to instruct a solicitor to do the transfer over to her son but yes it can be done. X

She wants to sign all the house over to her son but would the council see it as a gift? Or deliberate deprivation of assets? She has nothing in her bank account she aged 65 and is so shaken by all this and crying most of the time ps Thankyou for replying

Kitanora thank you I have only got the message you stating you never sent a pvt message before

@Nbu1964 I replied in the first instance above don't know if you saw it. Every local authority has their own policies, I would suggest that she rings them anonymously (or you could) in the first instance and explain that you're calling to make enquiries about a possible situation (and explain it) but don't say it's happened yet say you're waiting to find out but it's possible it could still be in her name you're waiting on a solicitor to check the deeds ... don't give your details just hypothetically speaking see what they say would happen.. does she have a copy of the deed that she originally signed to take her name off? It's a very messy situation and one I haven't come across before but I'd try to probe the local authority as described above first to see what their stance in it, say your ringing for a friend who is very worried. If she doesn't get any money for the transfer and it was supposed to historically been transferred and she can prove that then I wouldn't see a problem but again local authorities are all different :-( hope that helps a bit and sorry I can't say more x bless her x

Her name is still on the deeds she’s so upset about it and honestly thought he had taken it off again thank you for your support and help hope your enjoying your maternity leave

Hi @MummytoGeorgie,

Firstly, thank you so much for starting this thread - you are amazing!

I am selling my first home which was purchased through the HelptoBuy scheme. Target HCA are stating I need an independent survey conducted by a RICS surveyor as they take 20% of whichever is higher - the price for which I sell my house or the valuation of said surveyor.

I won’t even go in to how much it angers me that they are gaining approximately £15,000 in profit (from what they gave me originally in order to buy the house - for doing absolutely nothing!), or the fact I have had to pay a £200 admin fee (for what exactly I do not know) or that I am having to pay for the valuation myself - for their potential benefit! But, my query (one that I sent to my solicitor over a week ago and have not received a reply!) is that - is a survey/valuation included in the house selling process via my solicitor or do I have to stick with the independent surveyor I have found myself and booked in for Thursday at a cost of £220?
It is just, I am not exactly well off so do not want to pay for anything that isn’t absolutely necessary and will be gutted if I have paid this out only to find as the sale process goes along I did not need to.

I think I unfortunately already know the answer but as I have never sold a house before I am feeling very overwhelmed!

Thank you so much in advance x

Hi @MummytoGeorgie , thank you for doing this. You must have a fascinating job, I love reading through all of the property board!

We are buying an end terrace house. The edge of the house is the property boundary. However, the front door is on this side and there is a pathway up to the house and front door, which belongs to the next door business. There is an easement over this land to our benefit to access our new front door.

I'm not concerned about this particularly, but I do have 2 questions. Firstly, the property next door hasnt been registered (the easement is on our registered title and on their deeds, which aren't yet registered). Can we put a caution against first registration on next doors title of the easement, and is this worth doing? And secondly, is it worth offering to buy this small piece of land from them? It is basically a small path from the road to our back gate, but with our main door on it. There is a fence one side, separating it from the property that it's a part of, and our house along the other side (I hope that makes sense!).

Like this...

@HLS1985
HI

You are more than welcome

Unfortunately you need to pay for the RICS valuation separately, then send this to target with completed solicitor authority forms.

Once target have everything and their admin fee they will then provide you with the redemption statement.

Target are very slow so you need to make sure you chase them in Order to get the statement from them.

The valuation only lasts for 3 months so if you don't complete in this time then you will need to get another one so make sure your solicitor is aware of the date!

Hope the sale goes through quick for you :-) x

Thanks for answering my cheeky question OP my job is the same as yours and I can't work out if the grass would be greener elsewhere! I doubt it would to be honest! It's a stressful job isn't it but I love it really and when on maternity leave I was itching to get back in the end

Hello @OUB1974

Thank you and for your message.

Does the next door property require access to the passageway to get to their business ... do they require use of it?

Dear @MummytoGeorgie. Thank you so much for answering so nicely! I’m off work tomorrow so will chase the solicitor and try to find out what’s happening. They know we want to complete by June 19 as our rental expires then, but haven’t heard anything. I’m glad you think it’s reasonable to chase them as didn’t want to be the client from hell at this busy time. Thanks again!

@Hk24498

Haha it is stressful but I do love my job too I like helping people understand it all and calling a client to advise we've completed makes it all worthwhile!

I've thought that before and moved to a new company in October last year and the grass was definitely greener.

I think a smaller company definitely value you more and clients prefer one on one as opposed to big companies that do huge volume where clients speak to various people every time they call .. maybe just check your options!

:-)

Here's my question......I am awaiting completion of my purchase - I am renting the new-build property that I am buying whilst awaiting this.

My solicitor has been a bit abrasive......I am being polite here!

I asked her if she could possibly chase up the builders' solicitor for the necessary papers as I am keen to get this sorted before end June. It has already been going on a long time. She replied: "I could diary it to get in touch with them once a week, but clearly I would have to charge you for this extra work" I was gobsmacked as I had thought that chasing up outstanding paperwork was part of the job.

Was I right to be gobsmacked, or was I being naive?

Thanks for your advice.

I have a question,
I have a private right of access pathway about midway along the rear of my garden, for my neighbour. I would like to move this to the rear of my garden so I have a fully enclosed garden (about 3 meters further down garden). Do I need to gain permission from my neighbour to move it or can I inform them I’m moving it (there will be no costs to the neighbour and they’ve not actually used the pathway for years.. it’s just for my peace of mind I don’t have to worry they’ve been in the garden and left gates open etc so the dog may get out, and I’d prefer a fully enclosed garden now)

@MummytoGeorgie Thank you so very much for starting this thread.. I hope you are enjoying every minute of the mat leave...

We desperately need some guidance, we have found a property after one failed sale earlier this year ( the seller pulled out). However, this property has a 15% flying freehold. Our mortgage provider has made an exception and has accepted the 15% flying freehold.

However, we received the land registry documents and deeds, there is not a single mention of it. In the land registry, it shows that the neighbours flying freehold is actually within our freehold boundary (their upstairs room is showing as part of this property in land registry). When we saw this, we raised enquires on the flying freehold documentation straight away 4 weeks ago (our solicitor just forwarded our email to them), while we got the searches in, etc. It has now been 4 weeks and we haven't heard back from the sellers with the reply. Our solicitors have chased them once saying it was urgent, but no response.

Do the vendors solicitors think that the questions aren't part of enquiry and as a result haven't replied? is there are special format of enquires raised that all solicitors follow?

I have been emailing and calling estate agents everyday for the last two weeks and they keep fobbing me off saying the seller has sent responses back and they have no further updates. We now have received the rest of the searches, and our solicitor is going to raise the rest of the enquires tomorrow stating that we need to complete before June 30th.

I want to know how complicated is flying freehold issue? is it easy to fix after the sale? and if we overlook the flying freehold and just go with what is in the land registry and deeds (ignore flying freehold), Can we complete by getting an indemnity insurance?

As a conveyancer, is it normal to not respond to enquires for over a month? I am not sure, if they are busy or the vendor has told them to hold off on replying.

Many thanks!

@MummytoGeorgie

Hello *@OUB1974*

Thank you and for your message.

Does the next door property require access to the passageway to get to their business ... do they require use of it?

Thank you No, they don't need it at all. It basically looks as though it is the passageway to our house, they have a driveway to the side, which is on a slope, so there's no way they even could use it, even if they wanted to (ie it is flat and goes into our flat back garden, but they are slightly higher up).

They have just put new fences in and the current owners have a good relationship with them, to the extent they informally let their visitors use their carpark!

I just started my own thread but perhaps you could help me, I would be so grateful!!

we are due to exchange contracts this week, our chain consists of -
Buy to let buyer - our buyer - us - house we are purchasing.
So we were all ready but have been advised that on our buyers sale there is a ‘supposed missing page on the copy of the plan from the Land Registry’
So worried now that the chain is going to fall apart.
I’ve done a bit of Googling but can’t find anything and surely when our buyer bought their property this was flagged if it’s actually missing!
Oh the stress! No idea how long this will take to resolve either.
Thank you!!!

@Mischance wow sorry but your solicitor does sound like a nightmare!! I would review their terms and conditions as to whether it mentions extra costs for chasing. This should indeed form part of the fixed fee cost as it's part of the job to chase things!! I'm gobsmacked reading that so yes you're right. Sounds like an awful firm I know of in Enfield but I shan't say any names! Once a week is also terrible. Sorry you're in this position but I'd 1) get a copy of the terms and conditions, If it's not mentioned this "extra work" ask her where you have been previously advised of this "extra work" fee. If you wasn't notified and it's not in the terms and conditions then I'd ask to speak to a partner of the company as it's always implied that this is covered within the legal fee as forms part of a solicitors duty!

Hope you managed to complete before End of the June xx

@Poppiesway1 hi, I hope you're well! I understand what you are saying and don't blame you wanting to move in but if your neighbour has a right of way over the middle part of the garden it isn't as simple to just move the path... it is most likely that your title deeds to the property will grant a right for the neighbour to access over and along the pathway (inc a plan showing its location within the deeds) and the neighbours deeds will also likely have this in.

If she has a mortgage lender and you do too you may need the lenders consent in order to move the pathway and if she agrees (and the lenders) then you can both enter into a deed of variation which you both will sign and this will need to be registered at the land registry for both properties so she would need third party representation for a solicitor to do this for her too.

X

@flyingfreehold2021

Hello, thanks for your message. Sorry to hear that the sellers solicitors are taking so long. Enquiries don't have to be in any specific format, it could be within a letter or a mere email would raising the question would still be classed as an enquiry.

The fact that the flying freehold is not mentioned is not a problem if you have indemnity insurance and the lender consents to the indemnity but I'd be more worried if the plans were incorrect as it seems so from your message. Obv I don't have the documentation to look at but if the plans are incorrect then this is a separate issue and it can take time to rectify depending on the lenders requirements. Whether or not the flying freehold aspect can be ignored is not your decision unfortunately your lender is will need to be aware and your solicitor will need to obtain their instructions before proceeding.

The agents don't sound helpful either !
I would be calling them twice daily, speak to a manager and put your foot down you need to know where you stand and you won't until you know the situation.

Also, if your lender is willing to proceed be prepared that you may face these issues when you come to sell the property.

Lastly, over a month to reply to enquiries is ridiculous. 2 weeks should be the absolute max and even then personally I think that's a bit much.

Sounds like the sellers solicitors are overworked !

I hope you manage to get some clear answers ASAP! Xx

@OUB1974 if the land is unregistered how do you know that it belongs to them and is just not registered to the sellers that you are buying from? Do they have the actual deeds to the passageway in question?

If they don't require access over it and it's only used by you anyway perhaps they would consider selling it to you but I find it strange that they would own it when you use it solely. I think if you were to put a caution on it could cause upset and annoyance .. if you're going to be living there I'd try having a chat with them first of all as they appear amicable if they let the current owner use their car park for visitors... just explain that they don't require it for any reason for access and it really does not serve them any purpose...

If they say no at least you have peace of mind I guess that no one will be waking past your door for any reason but I'd try and buy it if it was me.

Hope it all goes well!

Xx

@PinkToaster

Hello,

Ah I know it can be very stressful especially when you're this close and then something like this comes up! Their solicitor should have realised this when they checked through the paperwork at the outset And not the week of exchange !

The sellers can offer an indemnity policy for missing title deeds which can be obtained within an hour! It really can be resolved easily so try not to panic.

The buyers solicitors will need to agree to the indemnity policy, this close to exchange I really don't see that they have any choice.

I would call the agents in the morning and advise them that chain could fall apart but the buyer can rely on indemnity and get them to chase the lower chain!

Hope you manage to sort it this week and exchange :-)

Good luck xx

@MummytoGeorgie
Thank you so so much for your reply, I will phone the agent first thing!
Really appreciate you taking the time to give your advice x

[quote MummytoGeorgie]@Mischance wow sorry but your solicitor does sound like a nightmare!! I would review their terms and conditions as to whether it mentions extra costs for chasing. This should indeed form part of the fixed fee cost as it's part of the job to chase things!! I'm gobsmacked reading that so yes you're right. Sounds like an awful firm I know of in Enfield but I shan't say any names! Once a week is also terrible. Sorry you're in this position but I'd 1) get a copy of the terms and conditions, If it's not mentioned this "extra work" ask her where you have been previously advised of this "extra work" fee. If you wasn't notified and it's not in the terms and conditions then I'd ask to speak to a partner of the company as it's always implied that this is covered within the legal fee as forms part of a solicitors duty!

Hope you managed to complete before End of the June xx

@Poppiesway1 hi, I hope you're well! I understand what you are saying and don't blame you wanting to move in but if your neighbour has a right of way over the middle part of the garden it isn't as simple to just move the path... it is most likely that your title deeds to the property will grant a right for the neighbour to access over and along the pathway (inc a plan showing its location within the deeds) and the neighbours deeds will also likely have this in.

If she has a mortgage lender and you do too you may need the lenders consent in order to move the pathway and if she agrees (and the lenders) then you can both enter into a deed of variation which you both will sign and this will need to be registered at the land registry for both properties so she would need third party representation for a solicitor to do this for her too.

X

@flyingfreehold2021

Hello, thanks for your message. Sorry to hear that the sellers solicitors are taking so long. Enquiries don't have to be in any specific format, it could be within a letter or a mere email would raising the question would still be classed as an enquiry.

The fact that the flying freehold is not mentioned is not a problem if you have indemnity insurance and the lender consents to the indemnity but I'd be more worried if the plans were incorrect as it seems so from your message. Obv I don't have the documentation to look at but if the plans are incorrect then this is a separate issue and it can take time to rectify depending on the lenders requirements. Whether or not the flying freehold aspect can be ignored is not your decision unfortunately your lender is will need to be aware and your solicitor will need to obtain their instructions before proceeding.

The agents don't sound helpful either !
I would be calling them twice daily, speak to a manager and put your foot down you need to know where you stand and you won't until you know the situation.

Also, if your lender is willing to proceed be prepared that you may face these issues when you come to sell the property.

Lastly, over a month to reply to enquiries is ridiculous. 2 weeks should be the absolute max and even then personally I think that's a bit much.

Sounds like the sellers solicitors are overworked !

I hope you manage to get some clear answers ASAP! Xx

@OUB1974 if the land is unregistered how do you know that it belongs to them and is just not registered to the sellers that you are buying from? Do they have the actual deeds to the passageway in question?

If they don't require access over it and it's only used by you anyway perhaps they would consider selling it to you but I find it strange that they would own it when you use it solely. I think if you were to put a caution on it could cause upset and annoyance .. if you're going to be living there I'd try having a chat with them first of all as they appear amicable if they let the current owner use their car park for visitors... just explain that they don't require it for any reason for access and it really does not serve them any purpose...

If they say no at least you have peace of mind I guess that no one will be waking past your door for any reason but I'd try and buy it if it was me.

Hope it all goes well!

Xx

[/quote]
Thank you...yes they have the deeds and it definitely isnt included in our title. Both our registered title and their deeds (which our sellers have a copy of) record the easement. I cant see why it belongs to them at all, hopefully they may agree to sell it to us.

How long roughly can we put off moving out? We want to buy a new build and there’s one left that will be ready in a couple months.. however the next phase won’t be ready until November/December..

If someone offers this week are we just going to piss them off?😂